The present disclosure relates generally to systems and methods for collaboratively controlling at least one mobile platform.
Controlling mobile platforms, such as aircraft operating in a defined space, is a task that has both civilian and military applications. In a common aircraft situation, air traffic management may involve moving commercial airplanes and/or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) through airspace. Civilian air traffic control and military aircraft (asset or vehicle) tasking include the coordinated movement of multiple aircraft (assets or vehicles) through a crowded space filled with terrain, weather, and other obstructions.
Conventional methods of controlling assets operating in the defined airspace utilize various asset control systems that may be located, for example, at various different air traffic control centers. Additionally, a significant quantity of personnel, or air traffic managers, are required to operate the various asset control systems and thereby control the movement of the assets through the defined airspace.
However, as the quantity of assets moving through the defined airspace increases, the quantity of assets controlled by a single air traffic manager may also increase. Thus, in some situations, a single air traffic manager may be responsible for controlling the movement of numerous assets in the defined airspace. As a result, it may become more difficult for the air traffic manager to propose a flight plan to be followed by each of the assets. Additionally, it may become increasingly more difficult for the air traffic manager to propose a flight plan that maintains a sufficient or safe air separation between the asset being controlled by the air traffic manager and other assets operating in the defined airspace. Thus, as the quantity of air assets operating in the defined airspace increases, the asset control systems currently utilized may not enable the air traffic managers to effectively manage the assets in the defined airspace and/or to revise a flight plan that maintains a safe air separation between each of the assets traveling through the defined airspace.